Delay to new road ‘holds up’ Athlone student housing project
The developer of a planned student and residential housing project near Garrycastle said it's on hold for now due to the "significant uncertainty" over when a new road serving the area would be built.
Longford-based Avenir Homes Limited was awarded planning permission last June for a large-scale housing development on land close to the ESB facility in Garrycastle. Its site takes in parts of the townlands of Cartrontroy, Kilnafaddoge, Lissywollen and Ardnaglug.
Billed as 'The Green Quarter', the development is due to include 283 student bed spaces, in apartment blocks of up to seven stories in height, along with 60 houses and 62 residential apartments.
Avenir Homes Ltd pointed out, however, that the project was "contingent on the delivery of a new east-west distributor road (Lissywollen Avenue), which has planning permission as well as secured funding under the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund."
In a reference to Roadbridge Holdings Ltd, Avenir Homes said, "Unfortunately, since the grant of permission, the preferred 'economic operator' to deliver the roads component has gone into liquidation".
It said this meant "significant uncertainty now exists" in relation to the construction of Lissywollen Avenue, which was designed as important new transport link in Athlone, creating a direct connection between the Ballymahon Road and the Garrycastle roundabout.
The road was drawn up as part of a separate nearby development of 576 housing units, which is also yet to get underway in Lissywollen.
Roadbridge Holdings Ltd, is part of the Alanna-Roadbridge joint venture, which was granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála for the overall Lissywollen project.
Avenir Homes said that, as of December last, it understood from discussions with Westmeath County Council that a new 'economic operator' would have to be appointed to develop the road "through another formal tendering process, which has yet to commence".
"This means that the construction of this road will not begin until this competitive public tender and procurement process is completed."
These points were made by Avenir Homes Ltd in a submission, published on the council’s website, outlining why it believed its land should not be subject to the new Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) on undeveloped land zoned for housing.
The submission on behalf of Avenir Homes said: "The council and our client both wish to see the development of housing and student accommodation on the subject lands as soon as possible, but due to the requirement for the distributor road to be completed to facilitate access, the lands should be omitted from the Residential Zoned Land Tax map until such time as they are developable."